Assam student commits suicide after ragging

A college student in Assam allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a speeding train after being ragged in hostel, his family said.

The body of Chintumoni Bordoloi, a first year student of BA at Dimoria College in Sonapur on the outskirts of Assam's main city of Guwahati, was found on a railway track early on Sunday.

"Chintumoni called me up last night (Saturday) saying he was very badly ragged by seniors in the hostel. He was crying while talking on the phone and saying he could not sleep till the early hours," Gobind Bordoloi, Chintumoni's elder brother, said.

Chintumoni joined the college just three days ago.

"We have a feeling he ended his life unable to bear the trauma of ragging," Ranjit Bordoloi, another brother of the victim, said. Police have since registered a case of unnatural death and launched investigations.

"We suspect he was mowed down by a speeding train although we cannot deny or confirm if it was an accident or a case of suicide," a police official said.

"We are sure our brother was not suffering from any kind of depression other than ragging," Gobind said. There were no immediate comments from the college authorities.

Friends of Chintumoni said he left the hostel early on Sunday, saying he would visit a nearby town to buy some books. Earlier Friday, nine students of the prestigious Dibrugarh University were suspended for allegedly ragging juniors.